Wearable Sterile Alcohol Pad Dispensing Device

ABSTRACT

A dispensing device including a housing defining an interior cavity, a lid configured to move between an open position and a closed position, the lid being positioned on a top surface of the housing, a biasing mechanism positioned within the interior cavity to bias objects towards an opening in the housing, and at least one partition positioned in the interior cavity, the at least one partition being adjustable to adjust the width of the objects that can be received within the housing.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/471,403, filed on Mar. 15, 2017, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a dispenser for individually wrappedpads. The pads may be sterile alcohol pads, bandages, moist wipes, orany other similarly packaged products. The dispenser is designed to beattached to the body of a hospital worker, preferably at the waist,wrist or arm.

Description of Related Art

Individually-wrapped sterile alcohol pads have long been used todisinfect health care products prior to their contact with a patient'sbody. Recent changes in medical safety regulations caused an increase inthe number of products, items and/or devices that must be wiped cleanwith a sterile cloth before being introduced into the patientatmosphere. Generally, these pads are maintained in boxes that areplaced on a shelf or countertop or other inconvenient location in a roomwhere treatment is being provided. Health care providers must routinelydelay potentially life-saving treatment until sterile cleansing iscompleted, making instantaneous access to sterile wipes critical.Treatment is delayed because the health care worker must stop to obtainthe sterile pad from a location that is frequently distant orinconvenient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, a need exists for a wearable sterile alcoholpad dispenser that provides convenient access to such pads causingminimal delay in treatment. The present invention is designed tofacilitate immediate, on-demand access by way of its wearable design sothat health care providers can access sterile wipes from a portablehousing worn on their own bodies.

In one example of the present disclosure, a dispensing device includinga housing defining an interior cavity, a lid configured to move betweenan open position and a closed position, the lid being positioned on atop surface of the housing, a biasing mechanism positioned within theinterior cavity to bias objects towards an opening in the housing, andat least one partition positioned in the interior cavity, the at leastone partition being adjustable to adjust the width of the objects thatcan be received within the housing.

In another example of the present disclosure, the biasing mechanism mayinclude a wedge member, and a spring that biases the wedge membertowards the opening in the housing. The spring may be a constant forcespring steel. One end of the spring may be anchored to a portion of thehousing and an opposing end of the spring may be held on the wedgemember. The opposing end of the spring may be wound on a drum positionedwithin the wedge member. The wedge member may include a hook member thatis configured to latch onto a rib extending from a portion of thehousing. The at least one partition may include two partitions that arepositioned on opposite sides of the biasing mechanism. At least one slotmay be defined in the housing to receive the at least one partition. Theinterior cavity may be configured to receive a disposable cartridgeholding the objects. The biasing mechanism may be configured to movewithin the disposable cartridge to bias the objects towards the openingin the housing. An arm band or IV band may be removably connected to thehousing. The objects may include sterile wipes.

In another example of the present disclosure, a dispensing device mayinclude a plate, a biasing mechanism positioned on the plate for biasingobjects positioned on the plate towards a front end of the plate, and anarm band or IV band removably connected to the plate.

In another example of the present disclosure, the biasing mechanism mayinclude a wedge member, and a spring that biases the wedge membertowards the opening in the housing. The spring may be a constant forcespring steel. One end of the spring may be anchored to a portion of thehousing and an opposing end of the spring may be held on the wedgemember. The opposing end of the spring may be wound on a drum positionedwithin the wedge member. At least two locking tabs may extend from anupper surface of the plate, wherein the at least two locking tabs may beconfigured to latch onto corresponding locking detents on a disposablecartridge of objects.

In another example of the present disclosure, a dispensing device mayinclude a housing defining an interior cavity, a lid positioned on a topsurface of the housing, a front plate removably attached to a frontsurface of the housing, and a biasing mechanism positioned within theinterior cavity to bias objects towards an opening in the housing. Thefront plate may define an opening from which the objects may bedispensed. The front plate may be movable between a first position inwhich the opening is positioned adjacent a bottom surface of the housingand a second position in which the opening is positioned adjacent thetop surface of the housing.

These and other features and characteristics of the dispensing device,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of the device, will become more apparent upon consideration ofthe following description and the appended claims with reference to theaccompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification,wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in thevarious figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that thedrawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only, andare not intended as a definition of the limits of the disclosure. Asused in the specification and claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”,and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a dispensing device according to oneexample of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the exploded view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an attachment method for thedispensing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another attachment method for thedispensing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a top perspective view of a dispensing device according toanother example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a bottom perspective view of the dispensing device of FIG.12;

FIG. 14 is an exploded view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the exploded view of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a top view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;

FIG. 17 is a front view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;

FIG. 18 is a side view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;

FIG. 19 is a rear view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;

FIG. 20 is a bottom view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a dispensing device according toanother example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a top perspective view of the dispensing device of FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the dispensing device of FIG. 21 with afront plate in a first position; and

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the dispensing device of FIG. 21 with afront plate in a second position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper”, “lower”,“right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “lateral”,“longitudinal”, and derivatives thereof, shall relate to the inventionas it is oriented in the figures. However, it is to be understood thatthe invention may assume alternative variations and step sequences,except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to beunderstood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in theattached drawings, and described in the following specification, aresimply exemplary examples of the invention. Hence, specific dimensionsand other physical characteristics related to the examples disclosedherein are not to be considered as limiting.

Referring to the drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeparts throughout the several views thereof, the present disclosure isgenerally directed to a dispensing device and, more particularly, to awearable sterile alcohol pad dispensing device.

With reference to FIGS. 1-11, a dispensing device 2 (hereinafterreferred to as “device 2”) of the present disclosure is shown anddescribed. The device 2 includes a housing 4 having a front surface 6, arear surface 8, a top surface 10, a bottom surface 12, and two sidesurfaces 14, 16. In one example, the housing 4 may be substantiallyrectangular. The housing 4 may be made of plastic, includingmedical-grade plastic to prevent contamination of the housing 4 in anoperating room or examination room. The housing 4 may be molded as asingle monolithic structure.

The front surface 6 may be angled or sloped relative to a longitudinalaxis of the housing 4. An opening 18 is defined in the front surface 6to permit access to an interior cavity 20 defined by the housing 4. Aswill be discussed below, the interior cavity 20 is configured to hold aplurality of sterile wipes 22 that can be dispensed from the housing 4.The opening 18 may have a first portion 24 with a circular shape and asecond portion 26 with a rectangular shape that extends along the widthof the housing 4. The first portion 24 allows a user to contact asterile wipe 22 that is positioned adjacent the opening 18 within thehousing 4, and the second portion 26 allows the sterile wipe 22 to bedispensed from the housing 4. An additional opening 28 is also definedin the front surface 6 opposite the opening 18. This opening 28 providesanother method for the user to grip and pull a sterile wipe 22 from thehousing 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, an opening 30 may be defined in the top surface 10of the housing 4 to permit access to the interior cavity 20 of thehousing 4. A lid 32 may be attached to the top surface 10 to cover theopening 30. The lid 32 may be removably attached to the top surface 10such that the lid 32 can be completely removed from the top surface 10and reattached to the top surface 10. In another example, the lid 32 maybe hingedly attached to the top surface 10 such that the lid 32 can berotated between open and closed positions. A portion of the lid 32 mayoverlap on the side surface 16 of the housing 4. The lid 32 may be heldon the top surface 10 using a snap fit connection. It is alsocontemplated that alternative locking mechanisms may be used to lock thelid 32 on the top surface 10, such as friction fit connection,interference fit connection, lock and key connection, a tabbedconnection, or any other connection that would allow the lid 32 to belocked in a closed position and moved to an open position. In oneexample, the lid 32 may include ventilation holes 34 to permit air flowthrough the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4.

With reference to FIG. 3, the loading and unloading of sterile wipes 22into/from the housing 4 is described. As shown, in one example of thepresent disclosure, the housing 4 is adapted to receive a disposablecartridge 36 of sterile wipes 22. The disposable cartridge 36 may hold aplurality of sterile wipes 22. In another example, a non-disposablecartridge may be used that can be reloaded with sterile wipes 22 onceempty. The disposable cartridge 36 is substantially rectangular andsimilar in shape to the housing 4. The disposable cartridge 36 may besized to fit within the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4. Thedisposable cartridge 36 is positioned within the interior cavity 20 byopening the lid 32 on the housing 4 and inserting the disposablecartridge 36 through the opening 30. The disposable cartridge 36 mayrest on a bottom surface of the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of adjustable partitions 38, 40 may beremovably positioned within the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4. Thepartitions 38, 40 are movable within the interior cavity 20 to adjustthe size of disposable cartridge 36 that can be received within thehousing 4. The housing 4 defines a plurality of slots 42 within theinterior cavity 20 that are adapted to receive the partitions 38, 40.The slots 42 may extend from the front surface 6 to the rear surface 8of the housing 4. The slots 42 may have a width that is substantiallyequal to or slightly less than the width of the partitions 38, 40. Thepartitions 38, 40 include small tabs on a bottom surface thereof thatallow a user to insert the partitions 38, 40 into the slots 42. Sincethe width of the slots 42 may be slightly less than the width of thepartitions 38, 40, the partitions 38, 40 may be held within the slots 42via a friction fit. Since the partitions 38, 40 are removably positionedwithin the slots 42, a user can move the partitions 38, 40 towards andaway from one another to adjust the distance between the two partitions38, 40, which corresponds to a width of a disposable cartridge 36 thatcan be received within the interior cavity 20. Therefore, the adjustablepartitions 38, 40 can be adjusted to accept different types ofdisposable cartridges 36, which may include smaller sterile wipes orlarger sterile wipes as needed by the user. In one example, if the userwould like to use large sterile wipes in the device 2, the partitions38, 40 are moved to the outermost slots 42 to accommodate the largewidth of the disposable cartridge 36.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, the device 2 also includes amechanism for assisting in pushing the sterile wipes 22 towards theopening 18 to allow the user to remove the sterile wipes 22 from thehousing 4. In particular, a spring-biased wedge member 44 is movablypositioned within the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4 to bias thesterile wipes 22 towards the opening 18. The wedge member 44 may extendfrom a bottom surface of the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4 and maybe movable towards and away from the front surface 6 of the housing 4.In one example, the wedge member 44 is biased towards the front surface6 of the housing 4. The wedge member 44 may have a substantially slopedfront face. The wedge member 44 may be positioned between the partitions38, 40 in the interior cavity 20. As shown in greater detail in FIG. 4,the wedge member 44 is connected to the housing 4 via a spring 46. Inone example, the spring 46 is a constant force spring steel. One end ofthe spring 46 may be wound around a drum 48 positioned within the wedgemember 44 and an opposing end of the spring 46 may be anchored to thehousing 4 (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4). The spring 46 is configured toroll up on the drum 48 to move the wedge member 44 towards the opening18 of the housing 4.

For installation of a disposable cartridge 36 within the interior cavity20, the wedge member 44 must be pulled back towards the rear surface 8of the housing 4. Since the wedge member 44 is biased towards the frontsurface 6, the user will have to push or pull the wedge member 44towards the rear surface 8 to unravel the spring 46 from the drum 48.Since the wedge member 44 is biased towards the front surface 6, if theuser were to release pressure on the wedge member 44, the wedge member44 would slide back towards the front surface 6. To load a disposablecartridge 36 within the interior cavity 20, the wedge member 44 must bepushed back to the rear surface 8 to allow the disposable cartridge 36to be inserted into the interior cavity 20. To assist in keeping thewedge member 44 out of the way of the disposable cartridge 36 duringinsertion into the housing 4, a rib 50 extends downwardly from the topsurface of the interior cavity 20. The rib 50 is provided adjacent therear surface 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the wedge member 44 includes a hookmember 52 that extends from a top surface thereof. As the wedge member44 is moved towards the rear surface 8, the hook member 52 latches ontothe rib 50 to hold the wedge member 44 at the rear surface 8 of thehousing 4. The hook member 52 may be made of a resilient material, sothat as the hook member 52 is pushed against the rib 50, the hook member52 can bend to latch onto the rib 50. Once the hook member 52 has beenlatched onto the rib 50, the wedge member 44 is held stationary withinthe interior cavity 20 to permit the user to insert the disposablecartridge 36. After the disposable cartridge 36 has been inserted intothe interior cavity 20, the user can press down on the wedge member 44,which will cause the hook member 52 to be pressed down as well. As thehook member 52 is pressed down, the hook member 52 can unlatch from therib 50 to permit the wedge member 44 to move towards the front surface 6once again.

With reference to FIG. 3, the disposable cartridge 36 may define a slot54 to receive the wedge member 44 once the disposable cartridge 36 isinstalled in the interior cavity 20. The width of the slot 54 issubstantially similar to the width of the wedge member 44. In anotherexample, the width of the slot 54 is larger than the width of the wedgemember 44. The slot 54 is sized and configured to receive the wedgemember 44 once the disposable cartridge 36 has been installed in theinterior cavity 20. Once the disposable cartridge 36 has been installedin the interior cavity 20, the wedge member 44 can be released from therib 50 so that the wedge member 44 is biased towards the slot 54 in thedisposable cartridge 36. The wedge member 44 is moved into the slot 54and abuts the sterile wipe 22 that is positioned in a rear end of thedisposable cartridge 36. The pressure against the sterile wipe 22 by thewedge member 44 biases and pushes the remaining sterile wipes 22 towardsthe opening 18 in the housing 4. Therefore, as a sterile wipe 22 isremoved from the housing 4 via the opening 18, the wedge member 44pushes the remaining sterile wipes 22 towards the opening 18 to fill thegap that was left by the sterile wipe 22 that was removed. In this way,the wedge member 44 continues to bias all of the sterile wipes 22towards the opening 18 until all of the sterile wipes 22 in thedisposable cartridge 36 have been removed from the device 2. As thesterile wipes 22 are removed from the device 2, the wedge member 44 isbiased through the slot 54 in the disposable cartridge 36 towards theopening 18. Once all of the sterile wipes 22 have been removed from thedisposable cartridge 36, the user can open the lid 32 and remove thedisposable cartridge 36 to insert a new disposable cartridge 36 full ofadditional sterile wipes 22.

With reference to FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, the device 2 may also include anattachment mechanism for attaching the device 2 to a user or a fixturein an operating/examination room. In one example, the attachmentmechanism is an arm band 56 that is used to attach the device 2 to aportion of a user's arm, such as a wrist, forearm, or bicep. The armband 56 may be shaped as a resilient cuff that can accommodate manydifferent sized portions of a user or different users. It is alsocontemplated that other attachment mechanisms other than a band may beused to attach the device 2 to a user's arm. The arm band 56 may beremovably attachable to the device 2. In one example, a base member 58may be attached to and extend from the bottom surface 12 of the housing4. The base member 58 may define a keyhole opening 60 that receives acorresponding keyhole tab 62 on the arm band 56. The arm band 56 may beslid into the keyhole opening 60 of the base member 58 so that thekeyhole tab 62 can be snap-fit into the keyhole opening 60 to removablyattach the arm band 56 to the base member 58. It is also contemplatedthat other alternative methods may be used to removably attach the armband 56 to the base member 58, including Velcro, snap tabs, buttons, andany other suitable methods. In one example, the keyhole tab 62 isrotatably mounted on the arm band 56 so that, once the arm band 56 isremovably attached to the base member 58, the user can rotate the device2 on the arm band 56 into different positions as needed. As shown inFIG. 5, an IV band 64 may be removably connected to the base member 58in a similar way that the arm band 56 is removably connected to the basemember 58. The IV band 64 is configured for attachment to an IV pole.The arms of the IV band 64 may be resiliently expandable to snap fitonto the IV pole and securely hold the device 2 thereon.

With reference to FIGS. 12-20, another example of a dispensing device100 (hereinafter referred to as “device 100”) according to the presentdisclosure is shown and described. This example of the device 100 issubstantially similar to the device 2 described above, but includes afew different features. In particular, instead of using a housing 4 toreceive the disposable cartridge 36, the disposable cartridge 36 is heldon a plate 102. In one example, the plate 102 is configured to onlyreceive one size of disposable cartridge 36. After the disposablecartridge 36 is empty of sterile wipes 22, the disposable cartridge 36can be removed from the plate 102 and a new disposable cartridge 36 canbe installed on the plate 102. It is contemplated that the plate 102 maybe sized according to the desired disposable cartridge 36. Thedisposable cartridge 36 may be held on the plate 102 using a pluralityof locking tabs 104 that extend from an upper surface of the plate 102.The locking tabs 104 may be made of a resilient material so that thelocking tabs 104 can be pushed out of place and will snap back intoplace once pressure is released therefrom. The disposable cartridge 36has corresponding locking detents 106 that are defined in a lowersurface of the disposable cartridge 36. As the disposable cartridge 36is pressed onto the plate 102, the locking tabs 104 are pushed outwardlyto receive the disposable cartridge 36 and then snap back into placewithin the locking detents 106 to hold the disposable cartridge 36 onthe plate 102.

With reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the same wedge member 44 may be usedon the plate 102 to bias the sterile wipes 22 towards the front end ofthe disposable cartridge 36. The wedge member 22 is attached to andoperates in the same manner as described above with the device 2.However, with the device 102, there is no corresponding rib on the plate102 for latching onto the hook member of the wedge member 44. Therefore,a user must apply constant pressure against the biasing force of thespring 46, while the disposable cartridge 36 is installed on the plate102. Further, a similar arm band 56 or IV band 64 may be removablyconnected to a base member 58 provided on a bottom surface of the plate102. The base member 58 and the arm band 56/IV band 64 may have asimilar connection method as discussed above in reference to the device2.

With reference to FIGS. 21-24, another example of a dispensing device150 (hereinafter referred to as “device 150”) according to the presentdisclosure is shown and described. This example of the device 150 issubstantially similar to the device 2 described above, but includesseveral different features from the device 2. In particular, the housing4 includes a reversible, removable front plate 152 held on the frontsurface 6 of the housing 4. The front plate 152 may define an opening154 that permits a user to access the interior cavity 20 of the housing4 to pull a sterile wipe 22 therefrom. The front plate 152 is removablyattached to the front surface 6 of the housing 4 via a snap-fit, but maybe connected using any other known method that would allow the frontplate 152 to be removably attached to the housing 4. In this embodiment,the front surface 6 includes four tabs 156 a-156 d in each cornerthereof that define slots therebetween. The tabs 156 a-156 d areconfigured to receive the front plate 152 therebetween when attached tothe front surface 6. The front plate 152 is reversible between twodifferent positions that accommodate two different methods of removingsterile wipes 22 from the device 150. In a first position shown in FIG.23, the opening 154 of the front plate 152 is positioned adjacent thebottom surface 12 of the housing 4. In this position, the user can slidehis/her finger or thumb along the opening 154 to push the sterile wipe22 out of the device 150 and away from the bottom surface 12 of thehousing 4. In a second position shown in FIG. 24, the front plate 152may be reversed on the front surface 6 of the housing 4 so that theopening 154 is positioned adjacent the top surface 10 of the housing 4.In this position, the user can slide his/her finger or thumb along theopening 154 to pull the sterile wipe 22 out of the device 150 andtowards the top surface 10 of the housing 4. Therefore, using these twopositions for the front plate 152, the user can adapt the device 150based on the desired motion the user would like to use to pull thesterile wipes 22 out of the housing 4.

This example of the device 150 is configured to receive individualsterile wipes 22, instead of a disposable cartridge 36. The sterilewipes 22 can be inserted into the housing 4 by lifting the lid 32 andinserting the individual sterile wipes 22 into the interior cavity 20.The device 150 includes a similar biasing arrangement that includes awedge member 158 that is spring-biased towards the front surface 6 ofthe housing 4. The wedge member 158 can be pushed towards the rearsurface 8 of the housing 4 by the user as the user inserts sterile wipes22 into the interior cavity 20. In another example, a lockingarrangement, similar to the rib 50 and hook member 52 of device 2, maybe used to hold the wedge member 158 in an extended position while thesterile wipes 22 are inserted into the interior cavity 20. The device150 also includes an attachment feature for securing the device 150 tothe user. The device 150 may include a belt clip 160 that is connectedto the bottom surface 12 of the device 150 so the user can clip thedevice 150 on his/her belt to easily access the sterile wipes 22. It isalso contemplated that the belt clip 160 may be used on the devices 2,100 described above.

The devices 2, 100, 150 described above comply with health careregulations requiring sterile wipes to be individually packaged byallowing a user to “load” the devices 2, 100,150 with disposablecartridges of sterile wipes or individually-packaged sterile wipes.Users can thereafter access individual sterile wipes by swiping a thumb(or finger) across the opening at the open end of the device 2, 100,150. The friction and downward pressure created by the user's thumb (orfinger) will cause a sterile wipe to advance out of its plastic housingand into the user's hand.

Those skilled in the art will understand that individually packagedwipes or bandages of any type may be used with the present invention.Sterile alcohol pads, hand sanitizer wipes, or tissues may also beinserted into the devices 2, 100, 150. The dimensions of the dispensercan be modified to fit the package size of the wipes.

While several examples of the dispensing device are shown in theaccompanying figures and described hereinabove in detail, otherembodiments will be apparent to, and readily made by, those skilled inthe art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.For example, it is to be understood that features of each example of thedispensing device may be incorporated into the other remaining devices.Accordingly, the foregoing description is intended to be illustrativerather than restrictive.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A dispensing device, comprising: a housingdefining an interior cavity; a lid configured to move between an openposition and a closed position, the lid being positioned on a topsurface of the housing; a biasing mechanism positioned within theinterior cavity to bias objects towards an opening in the housing; andat least one partition positioned in the interior cavity, the at leastone partition being adjustable to adjust the width of the objects thatcan be received within the housing.
 2. The dispensing device as claimedin claim 1, wherein the biasing mechanism comprises: a wedge member; anda spring that biases the wedge member towards the opening in thehousing.
 3. The dispensing device as claimed in claim 2, wherein thespring is a constant force spring steel.
 4. The dispensing device asclaimed in claim 2, wherein one end of the spring is anchored to aportion of the housing and an opposing end of the spring is held on thewedge member.
 5. The dispensing device as claimed in claim 4, whereinthe opposing end of the spring is wound on a drum positioned within thewedge member.
 6. The dispensing device as claimed in claim 2, whereinthe wedge member comprises a hook member that is configured to latchonto a rib extending from a portion of the housing.
 7. The dispensingdevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one partitioncomprises two partitions that are positioned on opposite sides of thebiasing mechanism.
 8. The dispensing device as claimed in claim 1,wherein at least one slot is defined in the housing to receive the atleast one partition.
 9. The dispensing device as claimed in claim 1,wherein the interior cavity is configured to receive a disposablecartridge holding the objects.
 10. The dispensing device as claimed inclaim 9, wherein the biasing mechanism is configured to move within thedisposable cartridge to bias the objects towards the opening in thehousing.
 11. The dispensing device as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising an arm band or IV band removably connected to the housing.12. The dispensing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the objectscomprise sterile wipes.
 13. A dispensing device, comprising: a plate; abiasing mechanism positioned on the plate for biasing objects positionedon the plate towards a front end of the plate; and an arm band or IVband removably connected to the plate.
 14. The dispensing device asclaimed in claim 13, wherein the biasing mechanism comprises: a wedgemember; and a spring that biases the wedge member towards the opening inthe housing.
 15. The dispensing device as claimed in claim 14, whereinthe spring is a constant force spring steel.
 16. The dispensing deviceas claimed in claim 14, wherein one end of the spring is anchored to aportion of the housing and an opposing end of the spring is held on thewedge member.
 17. The dispensing device as claimed in claim 16, whereinthe opposing end of the spring is wound on a drum positioned within thewedge member.
 18. The dispensing device as claimed in claim 13, furthercomprising at least two locking tabs that extend from an upper surfaceof the plate, wherein the at least two locking tabs are configured tolatch onto corresponding locking detents on a disposable cartridge ofobjects.
 19. A dispensing device, comprising: a housing defining aninterior cavity; a lid positioned on a top surface of the housing; afront plate removably attached to a front surface of the housing; and abiasing mechanism positioned within the interior cavity to bias objectstowards an opening in the housing.
 20. The dispensing device as claimedin claim 19, wherein the front plate defines an opening from which theobjects may be dispensed, and wherein the front plate is movable betweena first position in which the opening is positioned adjacent a bottomsurface of the housing and a second position in which the opening ispositioned adjacent the top surface of the housing.